


Something Just Like This

by upthenorthmountain (aw264641)



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Angst, British, F/M, Kristanna, Modern AU, as always, can they help each other learn to love again, hmm what do you think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2018-11-30 21:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11472126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aw264641/pseuds/upthenorthmountain
Summary: Anna Rendell wants to believe in love but when it’s spent the last fifteen years giving her such a thorough kicking it’s tempting to give up on it. When her engagement collapses dramatically she moves to a new town for a new start, and there meets recently-divorced Kristoff Bjorgman, a man who also no longer believes in happy endings.





	1. Chapter 1

_But she said, where’d you wanna go?_  
_How much you wanna risk?_  
_I’m not looking for somebody with some superhuman gifts_  
_Some superhero, some fairytale bliss_  
_Just something I can turn to, somebody I can kiss_  
_I want something just like this_

 

* * *

 

“Ah, here we go - you’re over here, I expect. Let me just go and find Judy but I’m sure this is your desk - I don’t know where your computer is - wait here, dear, and I’ll go and see what’s what.”

Anna stood awkwardly by the desk. It was one of only three in this office, and the other two were cluttered with computers, papers, stationery, photographs and all kinds of things. This one was completely empty.

It felt a bit like a metaphor. It was as empty as everything else. This was her fresh start, her new life, with this new job and her new flat and even a new town. But her sister was abroad, and her friends had moved on as quickly as her erstwhile fiancé, and the flat contained nothing but a bed, a sofa and a pile of boxes. A blank slate could be the most depressing thing imaginable.

There was a tap on the open office door. It wasn’t the HR lady who’d shown her in, and it didn’t look like anyone who’d answer to the name Judy. It was a man in maybe his mid-thirties, in a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a computer monitor under his arm.

“Are you the new designer?” he said.

“Yes? Anna Rendell.”

“OK, great. Sorry, they told me you were starting NEXT Monday -” he walked past her and put the monitor on the spare desk - “or I’d have got this all sorted out for you, as it is I’ve had to drop everything to come running up here because now it’s apparently an emergency -” he went past her again and returned with a computer tower - “and I don’t even know if we have enough software licences but heaven forbid they give me the budget to buy any more -” now he was under the desk doing things with cables.

“I’m sorry -”

“Oh, god, it’s not your fault.” He went past her again, and this time picked up a cardboard box and rummaged in it. “Okay. Mouse, keyboard, let’s see if this will boot up.”

He finished attaching everything, sat down at the desk and turned on the computer. “I’m Kristoff, by the way. I’m the IT department.”

“I’m Anna. Christophe, is that French?”

“Hmm? No, with a K and a double-F. My dad’s Norwegian. Aha.” He started tapping away at the keyboard. “Let’s get you online, and I’ve set you up an email address so I’ll put that on - it’s first name dot last name, they’re all the same…”

“Anna!” The HR woman was back. “I’m so sorry, Judy’s in a meeting all morning, she thought you were starting next week for some reason!” Kristoff cleared his throat.

“But no worries!” she continued. “I see Kris is getting you all set up! Kris,” she said, her tone changing to one of tender concern. “How ARE you?”

“I’m fine, thank you, April,” he replied calmly. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m very well - I meant, how are you with - everything?”

“I’m fine, thank you, April,” he said again, never taking his eyes off the computer screen. “I’ll have this all done in ten minutes or so.”

“Okay - thank you, Kris. Well, I’d better take Anna off with me for some health and safety training, since Judy’s not available. Come on, dear.”

“Bye,” Anna said to Kristoff as she was ushered out. He raised a hand in a half-wave without looking up.

“He just got divorced,” April said immediately they were outside the office door, satisfying the curiosity that Anna couldn’t bring herself to express. “Last month. So sad! Such a nice man. But he seems to be bearing up. Are you married, dear?”

“No,” Anna said, very quickly. “No, I’m - single.”

“Me too,” April confided. “You should get a cat, dear, they’re such good company. Now then. Let’s see what we’ve got to get through.”

 

* * *

 

At night you could cry. In the day you had to smile, you had to go to work, you had to call your sister because she worried, you had to remember to buy milk. At night you could lie with your face in the pillow and let go, just for a while.

Starting over again at thirty-two. She’d always planned to be married by twenty-five, and then by thirty - but now she was alone, probably forever. No cosy home with husband and babies. No one to care if she cried herself to sleep every night of the week. Maybe she _should_ get a cat.

 

* * *

 

Kristoff wondered how long it would be before he could walk up the steps to the front door of his own home and maintain a constant heart rate. Leanne wasn’t here; no one was, just the empty house. It was over.

After she’d gone, once everything in the house was his, he’d had the locks changed. It had seemed silly and childish, and she’d returned her key, but he’d done it anyway. The thought of finding her there, unexpectedly - it had been worth the locksmith’s fee a hundred times over to know it could never happen. Maybe he should have just moved, but he’d always liked the house. Just as well, when it was practically the only thing he’d been able to keep.

You didn’t realise how much effort it took until it was over. Tiptoeing round someone else’s moods, trying to work out what you’d done wrong before you had to be told (and that was worse, so much worse, when he hadn’t been able to read her mind. That was what made her really angry).

Maybe marriage wasn’t for him. He’d always thought he’d be good at it, but apparently not. He was better off by himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The job was pretty much what Anna had expected. It was a sideways step rather than an upwards one; she’d justified it by saying she wanted to work for a smaller company (there were barely forty people here, rather than the thousands at her previous job), but to tell the truth she wasn’t exactly in the mood for anything challenging. In her immediate vicinity there was her boss Judy and the other graphic designer, Dan, who were both perfectly nice; after a couple of weeks she got to know everyone else. Their office was opposite the break room so everyone came past sooner or later.

“Why the face?”

Anna looked up from her notepad. Her colleagues were at a meeting involving some project she wasn’t working on; she’d mainly been using the peace and quiet to draw cross faces and angry lightning bolts down the border of her to-do list. But now Kristoff was leaning in the doorway of the office, holding a box of toner.

“Mm?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh. It’s my birthday.”

“I’m terribly sorry to hear that.” He put the box down next to the printer and knelt down to open its front panel.

She pulled a face at him. “And everyone I know is busy and I’m going to spend this evening by myself at home, which is no fun and not a real birthday at all.”

“OK, yeah, that is rough. Is it just the black that’s gone on here?”

“I don’t know, sorry, I haven’t used it.”

“No, it was Dan who rang, wasn’t it….well, I’ll do the black now, ring again if that doesn’t fix it.”

“Thanks.”

“Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

He shut the front of the printer again and packed the old toner cartridge neatly back in the box. Anna turned back to her computer and tried to concentrate on her work.

 

Kristoff stood and took a step to the door. Then he turned, suddenly, and said “I’m free tonight.”

“Sorry?”

“I mean - if you wanted to go out and get a drink or something. Just so you’re not by yourself on your birthday.”

“Oh!”

“I mean, just if you -”

“No, that would be nice! Just for a drink.”

“Sure. Um, shall I come pick you up about eight, then?”

“Okay! Okay. Great.”

 

* * *

 

Anna ate some cheese on toast after work and changed, after some deliberation, into a dress. She had no idea what kind of establishments this town had to offer, or, for that matter, what sort of place Kristoff might choose to take her. 

There was something else she was wondering about, too.

“Kristoff,” she said as they walked down the road into the town centre, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, sure.”

“Is this a date? I mean, did you mean for it to be a date?”

“I - no - I don’t know?”

Anna laughed. “You don’t know?”

“No, I meant - if you want it to be? It’s up to you. You’re pretty and I wanted to get to know you better but I’m a bit out of practice.”

“The lady in HR, April, said you just got divorced last month.”

“We were separated for quite a while before that. But I guess I haven’t asked a woman out in - six years? Nearer seven.”

“I suppose I haven’t been asked out in four.”

They walked on a bit longer. “I think -” Anna said, after some thought - “I think I’d prefer it if it wasn’t a date. If that’s okay.”

“Of course.”

“It’s only been a couple of months for me, since my engagement ended, and....”

“It’s fine. I understand.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. Friends?”

“Friends.”

Anna fiddled with the strap on her handbag. “You think I’m pretty?”

“I - did say that, didn’t I.”

“You  _ don’t _ think I’m pretty?”

“I do. If that’s okay.”

“Of course it’s okay...you don’t have to apologise for everything. I mean, even if I don’t want anything romantic right now, it’s still nice to know someone thinks I’m pretty.”

He smiled, then coughed. “I have an idea, since it’s a school night, and we probably shouldn’t drink too much. You’re new in town, right? Have you been to Moonlight’s?”

“What’s that? A nightclub?”

“No. But I think you’ll like it.”

 

* * *

 

It was an ice cream parlour. Kristoff laughed at Anna’s expression when she saw the counter, picked up a couple of menus and steered her into a booth. “I bring my nieces and nephews here sometimes,” he said. 

“You have a lot of them?”

“Three nieces, two nephews. Thanks to my two sisters and brother and their respective spouses.”

“That’s so nice. I just have my sister, and she’s living in Vienna at the moment. That’s my whole family.”

“Really?”

“Mmhmm. My parents aren’t around any more, and they were both only children. So it’s just me and Elsa.”

“Huh.”

“Do you have any children?”

Kristoff frowned. “No - don’t you think I’d have mentioned it?”

“You’d be surprised. One time, I’d been seeing this guy for a month before he mentioned his four year-old son.”

“No.”

“Yup. Apparently he was worried it would be a ‘dealbreaker’. The kid wasn’t, I like kids, but I don’t like men who don’t think they’re important enough to mention.”

“That sounds fair. No,” he said, “We hadn’t got round to kids yet. Which is probably just as well, considering.”

“We were getting married this summer and then we were going to start a family.” Anna paused for a second, then pulled herself together. “But sadly he turned out to be a big cheating cheater who cheats, so. Who needs him.”

Kristoff watched her face for a long moment, then said, “That’s the hard thing, isn’t it? Losing the future you thought you’d have.”

Anna swallowed and looked down at her hands.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Sorry.” He pushed her menu at her. “My niece would recommend the banana split, which comes with a wafer in the shape of a monkey.”

Anna blinked hard. “What’s the chocolatiest thing they have?”

He squinted at his menu, then said, “This definitely isn’t a date, right?”

“No. Why?”

He grimaced, and pulled a pair of reading glasses out of his jacket pocket and put them on. Anna snorted, and he moved to take them off again.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at your glasses - I’m laughing that if it _ was _ a date you wouldn’t have put them on, and wouldn’t have been able to read the menu.”

“I could probably - if I - “ he held it out at arm’s length. “It’s not that my eyes are getting worse, it’s that my arms aren’t long enough.”

Anna laughed. “My dad used to say that.”

“That’s very flattering, thank you, comparing me to your father.”

“I found two grey hairs this morning. Does that help?”

“No, because I refuse to believe it. You’re lying to make me feel better.”

“How old do you think I am?”

“If you think I’m going to answer that question you’ve got another think coming.”

“I’m thirty-three. That’s  _ mid- _ thirties, isn’t it, not even early thirties any more. I’m allowed to have grey hairs. Well, no I’m not, I pulled them straight out, but. They keep growing back.”

Kristoff put his head on its side. “Thirty-three? I wouldn’t have said that.”

“Thank you.”

“I’d have gone more, thirty-nine, forty -”

Anna swiped at him with her menu and he laughed. “You’re four years younger than me, anyway.”

“Really, I would have said I was TWENTY years younger than you -”

“- there’s no need to be rude. What ice cream do you want, woman, hurry up, they close in two hours.”

 

* * *

 

The ice cream was delicious, and the evening was warm as they walked back. Outside her building they stopped and Anna fiddled with her keys.

_ If this was a date _ , Anna thought,  _ He’d be thinking about kissing me. And I’d be okay with that? I think. But it isn’t, so he won’t. I think. _

“Thank you,” she said, “I thought I’d be sitting by myself feeling maudlin and instead I had a lovely evening.”

“You’re welcome. And the same, to be honest.”

Anna looked behind her and up at the flat. It would be cold, and dark, and empty. Ugh.

“I still have the bottle of wine I bought for tonight,” she said.  “If you fancy coming up?”

Kristoff glanced at his watch. “No, best not.”

“No?”

“I have to get up for work in the morning. As do you.”

“True.”

“Well. Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight.”

Then, to her surprise, Kristoff stepped forward and hugged her. Anna hardly had time to bring her arms up  round his shoulders before he was stepping back again, looking embarrassed. “Goodnight,” he said again, then turned and walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

“Anna!” Judy exclaimed as soon as she arrived at work the next morning. “Did you go out with the IT guy last night?”

“Yes - I mean no - he bought me ice cream because it was my birthday. But it wasn’t  _ going out  _ going out.”

“You should realise, Anna,” Dan said as he took off his jacket and hung it up, “That this place runs on gossip. ‘The IT guy was seen in public with the new graphic designer’ will now be the weekly conversation of choice. They’ll even stop talking about the woman in the canteen’s new tattoo.”

“Ignore him,” Judy said. “You can eat ice cream with whoever you want.”

“It wasn’t a date,” Anna said.

“Of course.”

“It’s on her face,” Dan said. “The tattoo. Well, her neck.”

“Has he worked here long?” Anna asked Judy. “Kristoff.”

“Longer than me,” Dan said.

“But not as long as me,” Judy said. “Nine or ten years, maybe? But I don’t know him very well. He keeps himself to himself, mainly.”

“That makes him sound like a serial killer,” Dan said, twiddling a pen between his fingers. “Quiet type, kept himself to himself, how were we to guess he was poisoning little old ladies.”

“I wasn’t fond of his wife,” Judy said, ignoring him. “I mean, I only met her a couple of times, but she didn’t seem like a very happy woman.”

“I only met her once, that time she came to the Christmas do, year before last I think,” Dan said. “She spent the whole evening glaring at him every time he spoke to another woman -”

“Even me,” Judy said.

“- and then they had a row and left early. The women in distribution spent the whole of the following Monday dissecting it, and as I recall they gave them a year, which was actually fairly accurate.”

“You seem very up on this,” Anna said, “For someone who doesn’t like gossip.” 

Dan squared his shoulders. “I never said I didn’t like it.”

 

* * *

 

Did Kristoff keep himself to himself? He certainly spent most of the workday in his office, a small room just down the corridor that was scrupulously tidy despite being crowded with boxes and computing equipment. He usually only ventured out if forced to fix things for people or to make a cup of tea in the breakroom. He was polite and professional, but he didn’t seem much of one for small talk, and he certainly didn’t gossip.

Anna did find him easy to talk to, though. He lived only one street over from her and she ran into him on the way to and from work quite regularly. That, and the fact that seeing him make a cup of tea often made her realise that she needed one too, meant that after a month or so she probably knew him better than anyone else in the office.

At first she worried a little about what people would say, what they would think if they kept seeing the two of them together. But after a while she stopped caring, not least because she realised that whatever she did, people were going to talk about it.

And he was her friend, wasn’t he? They’d agreed that. So when they were walking home from work on a Friday evening, and she had nothing on (she never had anything on), it was fine to invite him up to share a takeaway pizza. 

 

* * *

 

Which was how he came to be sitting on her sofa at 9pm. The pizza was long gone but neither of them seemed to want him to leave.

“I used to have such a great social life,” Anna said. “Out every weekend. Why does it get so hard to make friends when you get older?”

“I’m sitting right here,” Kristoff said mildly.

“Well, I have one friend. Just one. I used to have  _ lots _ .”

“Quality over quantity, surely.”

“This is nearly the longest I’ve ever been without a boyfriend, also, but I’m not looking for one of those right now.”

“Well, I’m thirty-seven,” he said, “And I’ve only ever kissed three women.”

“Three?”

“Mm. I was a late bloomer I guess - first kiss at twenty-one - and, I don’t know. When I find someone I like I tend to stick with them, I suppose. Longer than I should, actually.”

“That’s sweet. I don’t know how many men I’ve kissed, off the top of my head. I don’t even -” she stopped, suddenly.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Kristoff said. “I’m glad to hear you made better use of your youth than I did.”

“No, it’s not that - after my parents died, I went a bit - I had a bad year. I was going to say - I don’t even know how many men I’ve  _ slept _ with, not exactly. That’s awful, isn’t it.”

He didn’t say anything but his hand was warm on her shoulder. After a moment Anna put her hand over the top of his. “Long time ago, now,” she said. “Next year I’ll have been an orphan half my life. Gosh,  _ that _ makes me feel old.”

She looked up at him. He was closer than she’d realised, and on a whim, she reached up and kissed him quickly on the lips. “Four,” she said.

She wasn’t sure what she expected to happen. What  _ did _ happen, though, was that Kristoff moved his hand up from her shoulder to cup the side of her face; then he leant down and kissed her, properly. She let him, and she let herself kiss him back, until he pulled away and let his hand drop, watching her face.

“Kris…” she said quietly.

“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry. That’s not what you’re looking for.”

“I don’t know what I’m looking for,” she said. “I don’t know what I want.”

He put his hand to the side of her face again, and stroked a lock of her hair behind her ear. She leant into him and he put his arm round her shoulders, pulling her in to rest against his chest.

“You remember when we went out and ate ice cream on my birthday,” she said.

“Of course.”

“And when we said goodnight I was sad and you hugged me.”

“Yes.”

“I realised, afterwards, that that was the first time in over a month that anyone had touched me. After a while you start to feel like you’re in a bubble, kind of, not connected to anything. Like a ghost.”

He hugged her a bit tighter. She let out her breath slowly, relaxing against him.

“I think,” she said, “I want - this. I think - a friend, but sometimes we kiss.” She looked up and he was smiling, amused.

“I think that's about the level I can cope with, too,” he said.

“OK, then.” Anna bit her lip in thought.

“It’s weird, isn’t it,” she said. “Kissing someone else after so long.”

“It is.”

“Especially when you thought that was the last person you’d ever kiss. Well, _ I  _ thought that, apparently  _ he _ didn’t.” 

Anna scrunched up a bit in her seat. “Do you want to talk about it?” Kristoff said quietly.

She shrugged. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear about it.”

“Maybe I do.”

Anna gathered her thoughts. “Oh, it wasn’t anything especially out of the ordinary, I suppose...we’d been together a couple of years, and he met this other woman - I didn’t know, obviously - and then a bit after that I think he proposed out of guilt? I don’t know. But I was happy and planning everything and I suppose that gave him more time to himself. He insisted, after I found out everything, he insisted he didn’t properly take up with her until after we were engaged, though why he thought that made the blindest bit of difference I don’t know.”

“How did you find out?”

“Oh, I knew for a while, or I guess I did….all the usual stupid stuff, hiding his phone, ending conversations when I came in the room, suddenly needing to work late a lot, taking out more money than he used to without saying what it was for.” She sighed. “But it was like, one part of my brain was saying ‘he’s obviously cheating on you’ but the bigger part shouted it down, we’re getting married! He loves me! So I ignored it. Until,” she took a deep breath, “One time he left his tablet in the living room, and his tablet doesn’t have a passcode like his phone but it has all his messages on it, and I picked it up and I looked. And he came back in and saw me with it and we had a HUGE row, it went on for like two hours and ended up with me throwing my ring at him and running out. And he let me, he didn’t even follow me.”

She leant her head against Kristoff’s chest and he put up his hand and gently stroked her hair.

“And it’s so weird but I still feel bad for snooping? Even though if I hadn’t, I might still be there, god. He tried to get arsy about me looking but he didn’t exactly have the moral high ground. I didn’t read that far back in the messages but he’d definitely been seeing  _ her _ the weekend Elsa came over from Austria so we could look at wedding dresses. I was trying on  _ wedding dresses  _ while he was having sex with another woman. I’m sorry, I’m going on, I’ll stop.”

Kristoff smiled. “You’re fine.”

“It was such a pretty dress,” Anna said wistfully. “It had a skirt like  _ this _ and it was all lace, here, it was lovely….I’d only paid a deposit on it though. Lost that. Lost a lot of deposits. At least we hadn’t send the invitations out yet. But I had to ring up and cancel everything. That was a fun afternoon.”

“When were you supposed to get married?”

“Fifth of August.”

“Oh, so not yet.”

“No, couple more weeks. Maybe when we’re past then I’ll feel better, I don’t know.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Hopefully.”


	4. Chapter Four

“The problem with you, Kristoff,” his friend Sven had once said, “Is that you think about things too much. The time to ask a woman out is as soon as you realise you like her, not after you've spent weeks pining over her from afar. Just ask and be done with it.”

That had been years ago - pre-Leanne - but Kristoff could hear Sven’s voice in his head when Anna had complained about having no one to go out with on her birthday.  _ What’re you waiting for, a written invitation? _

Why had he kissed her? Okay, yes, she'd kissed him first, but he could easily have played that off as a joke; smiled, said thanks, changed the subject. He wasn’t normally so impulsive. Maybe part of his brain just felt he deserved something nice, something simple. A friend, but sometimes we kiss.

“You need to get back on that horse,” Sven had said more recently.

“That doesn’t sound very flattering to - well, anyone,” Kristoff had replied.

“You know what I mean. Please don’t spend ten years moping about, waiting for the love of your life. Because then when she does appear you’ll be too scared to talk to her. Get some practice in. I mean, still find a nice girl you like and be nice to her, but aim more at the level of - we’ve had a nice dinner and now we’ll have a kiss and a cuddle on the sofa. Start there, work your way back up.”

“Nice girls don't exactly grow on trees.”

But, what did you know. 

 

* * *

 

“Are you ready for this weekend?” was the first thing Anna said to Kristoff when she saw him on the way to work that Friday.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“I’ve never done anything like this before!”

“Really? They do it every year here.”

“Team-building things at my old places were all conferences and seminars and boring things like that. Oh, one time we did a firewalk.”

“What’s that?”

“You know! Where you walk on hot coals.”

“Why?”

“To prove, you know. You can do anything you put your mind to.”

“Did you do it?”

“Of course! It was fine. It was only a few steps.”

“Huh. Well, thank you for making me feel better about a scavenger hunt and a barbecue, even if we do have to sleep in wooden sheds afterwards.”

Anna laughed. “It’ll be fun! And they’re cabins.”

“I slept there last year. They’re definitely sheds.”

“Do we get one each?”

“Oh, no. There’s one for boys and one for girls. Bunkbeds.”

“I’ve been informed,” Anna said, “That it’s - and I quote - ‘not so much a barbecue as a piss-up.’”

Kristoff laughed. “Did Dan say that? A few of them get quite drunk, yeah. Go to bed by midnight if you don't want to hear the printers singing dirty rugby songs.”

“Maybe I know a few rugby songs.”

“Well, I’ll look forward to it then.”

 

* * *

 

From:  [ april.howell@arundelprint.co.uk ](mailto:april.howell@arundelprint.co.uk)

To: all staff

 

Subject: Team-building weekend 2017

 

It’s nearly here! The famous ARUNDEL PRINT ANNUAL TEAM-BUILDING WEEKEND!! :)

Itinerary:

Saturday:

10am: Arrive and unpack

11am: Assault course: admin/design/management vs printing/binding/distribution!! Wear trainers and joggers/t-shirts that you don’t mind getting muddy!!

12 noon: Lunch

2pm: Spaghetti towers - build the tallest tower out of (dry!) spaghetti to win!! Groups of three or four for this one, try and stay in departments if poss!!

4pm: Scavenger hunt - choose a partner and whichever pair finds the most items wins!! All new items for 2017!!

7pm til late: Barbecue and bonfire!! Behave yourselves please, let’s not have a repeat of last year!!

Sunday:

9am: Breakfast

10am: Tidy up and leave

(we need to all be out by 11!! So no dilly-dallying, remove all rubbish from bunks and campsite please, no one is leaving until it's all clean)

Any dietary or other requirements let me know ASAP please as I am going to the cash and carry on Thursday!!

 

* * *

 

“Not exactly Center Parcs, is it,” Judy said cheerfully as they unpacked in the cabins.

“It's barely even Butlins,” Anna replied. Judy laughed. 

“I think they do outward bound things here, for schools and youth groups, most of the time,” she said. “Did you get a look at the assault course?”

“Yeah - does everyone do it?”

“In a relay, usually. Then whichever team gets the best time wins.”

“And we need three for the spaghetti thing? So we’ll do that as a department?”

“Three or four, so I thought we could ask Kristoff to join us?”

Judy had her back to Anna as she pushed her suitcase under the bed, but Anna could  _ feel  _ her grin.

“Sure,” she said. “Why not.”

 

* * *

 

“Ow,” Anna said. “No, no, it's fine. It only hurts if I bend it like  _ this _ \- OW.”

“Are you sure you don't want to go to A&E?” Kristoff said.

“Oh, no, it's definitely not broken.” She rubbed her wrist with her other hand. “I've broken it before. We won, though, didn't we.”

“Well, yes -”

He had to admit that Anna’s run round the assault course had been impressive. She'd insisted on going first and had attacked it with such gusto that her low time had more than made up for the CEO ambling round the course like he had all day (while Anna bounced on the balls of her feet with frustration). She seemed to consider the fact that she'd probably sprained her wrist as a minor annoyance.

“What use are you to us now,” Dan said, “If you can't tape spaghetti together.”

“I’ll supply  _ creative vision.” _

“Such as?”

“Triangles are strongest.”

“We need height, not strength. We need to get that marshmallow the highest off the ground if we're going to win, and you're the competitive one, apparently.”

“You need strength to get height,” Kristoff said. “Where is our marshmallow?”

Anna looked guilty.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, for the scavenger hunt we need you all in pairs,” John the CEO announced. “Everybody pair up. Try and stay in departments if you can.” 

Dan leant over towards Anna. “Oh dear,” he said. “Our department is three people.”

“So it is,” she replied. 

“That’s an odd number. Anna, would you do me a personal favour? Would you let me partner with Judy? Though that does mean you’ll have to find someone else, I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine,” Anna said, trying not to lUgh, “did you have any suggestions? Isn’t HR just one person?”

“I think he means me,” Kristoff said, behind her. “If you can stand any more of my company.”

“Of course,” Anna said, turning to him. “Rather you than Dan, I spend enough time listening to him complain.”

“Fine,” Dan said. “For that, we’re going to beat you,” and he turned on his heel and went to find Judy.

Everyone else was pairing up, too. Anna collected the list of scavenger hunt items and looked down it.

“I wish everyone wouldn't look at us like that when we stand next to each other,” Kristoff said.

“They all think we're sleeping together,” Anna said matter-of-factly. 

“Really?”

“Mmm. Having some torrid affair.” She grinned at him. “So you’ve done this before - how do we win?”

 

* * *

 

The barbecue was perfectly good fun, Anna didn’t know what everyone had been complaining about. The food was fine, for a barbecue, and there was a campfire, and someone had managed to get some music playing. And there was plenty of wine and beer.

At the beginning of the evening Anna had tried to circulate, to sit and talk with different people from different departments, but she kept gravitating back towards one in particular. Kristoff mainly sat over to one side and only spoke to people who spoke to him; when she looked over he was either watching her or looking at his drink.

Finally she gave in and sat down next to him on the log by the campfire. His smile was immediate. “Having a good time?”

“Yes! This is fun.”

To her surprise, he put his arm around her. “You look so pretty today,” he said. 

“Thank you.” 

He pulled her in a bit closer. “I know they’re all looking,” he said. “Looking at me with the prettiest girl in the room. Field. Whatever.”

Anna laughed. “You’re sweet.”

“May I kiss you?” he asked, very serious.

“Everyone can see us.”

“Oh.” He looked down at his feet.

“I didn’t say no.”

His face lit up again, and Anna wondered exactly how much he’d had to drink; but then, she wasn’t exactly sober either.

He kissed her, but Anna jumped away from him when a piercing wolf-whistle went off on the other side of the fire. Kristoff just laughed, then cupped the back of her head and kissed her again; this time a cheer went up but it didn’t last long. The kiss lasted longer, and when it finished Anna found that she was now sitting on Kristoff’s lap - which one of them had done that? Maybe both.

It was comfortable, though. She snuggled up and accepted another plastic cup of the not-as-bad-as-she-was-expecting white wine that was being passed along the line. She loved team-building.

 

* * *

 

By half-eleven the group round the bonfire was noticeably thinning as people retired to their bunkbeds. Anna decided she might as well go to bed as well - the evening was clearly winding down - so she said her goodnights and tottered off in the direction of the women’s cabin.

She was walking along the path through the trees, wondering vaguely if she was going to be able to climb into her bunk with only one good hand without falling off the ladder, when someone came up behind her and grabbed her arm.

She jumped, and yelped. “I'm sorry!” the man said, and she turned to see Kristoff, looking worried. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” he said again, slipping his arms round her waist. “I didn't mean to startle you, it's only me.”

“What are you doing here?” she said, “I was just going to bed.”

“I wanted to kiss you goodnight,” he said. “May I?”

His lips were already only millimetres from hers. Anna reached up and pulled his head down to close the gap.

They kissed. Anna’s legs were already a little wobbly, and she let herself lean on Kristoff; he stumbled slightly, and Anna ended up with her back pressed against a tree. Kristoff moved his hands to her hips, then let one wander upwards as he started to kiss her jaw and neck.

He’d never been this forward before; his whole body was pressed against hers, and when his kisses returned to her lips they were deep and passionate. Anna pulled herself up on his shoulders and hooked a leg round his hips; he ground against her and she gasped against his mouth.

And then she had a sudden mental image of them trying to sneak onto the bunkbed to have sex and snorted with laughter. Kristoff pulled back a little in surprise. “What?” he said.

Anna kept giggling as she put her foot back down. “Sorry. Sorry. It’s just -”

He let go of her and pulled back further. Anna was confused until she saw a group of people coming along the path to the cabins, and she quickly stepped back onto the path and pulled her top straight.

“Goodnight,” she said.

“Goodnight,” Kristoff replied, and then he was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

“I don’t know, Anna. Are you sure you’re ready for a new relationship?”

“It’s not a relationship! It’s, it’s a support group. He got divorced, earlier this year.”

“Have you slept with him?”

“No!”

Elsa said nothing. Anna hated that, how Elsa would let the silence sit until Anna tried to fill it. She hated more that she always  _ would _ try and fill it. 

“Look, I don’t know if it’ll go anywhere,” she said. “But he’s easy to talk to, and he likes me, and he’s a good kisser -” Oops.

“Anna! You said you hadn’t slept with him!”

“Oh, for - I know it’s not your area of expertise, but there is a  _ world of difference  _ between kissing someone occasionally and having actual sexual intercourse with them.” The fact that, if trees had the ability to magically turn into double beds behind locking doors, she absolutely would have slept with him, was an entirely different point. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad one that Arundel Print didn't hold their events at hotels like normal companies.

Another pause, but Anna held her tongue during this one, until her sister continued.

“I suppose. Are you sure you’ll be alright this weekend? I’ll come over if you need me.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be fine.”

“Sure?”

“Sure.”

 

* * *

 

The Sunday morning of the team-building weekend wasn't nearly as bad as Anna feared when she woke up in her sleeping bag, hungover and blushing bright red at the memory of how Kristoff had kissed her (in public by the campfire, and in semi-private - well). But aside from a few odd comments, no one said very much.  _ They really do think we’re already doing it,  _ Anna realised. 

No one was very chatty at breakfast, anyway, and cleaning up the campsite didn't take long. Kristoff himself was the same as always, a little subdued but then everyone was. When she saw him Anna tried not to remember the night before, the way he had pressed his body against hers;  _ soon _ , she just thought, and that kept her warm all the drive home.

 

* * *

 

Of course she didn’t want to be getting married today. He was a cheater and a liar and she was well rid of him, she knew that. But there was the little part of her brain that still lived in the fantasy, where Matt was a good man and they loved each other and right now she’d be having her hair done, and putting on her dress; right now she’d be walking down the aisle. Now he’d be making a speech, all about how lucky he was to have her. By now she’d be someone’s wife.

It was that late-afternoon slump, just gone 4pm, when it was too late to really go anywhere but too early to think about dinner. Anna lay on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. There was nothing she wanted to do but she didn’t want to stay here, either. Her whole body felt itchy. Why would today not just  _ end _ .

The doorbell rang. Anna turned her head to it and, for the first time in her life, gave serious thought to not answering it. It rang again. Ugh,  _ fine _ .

It was a florist. Anna walked back through to her living room with the bunch of flowers, fumbling for the card. She was sure they were from her sister until she read it -  _ Just remember, someone in IT thinks you’re pretty. _

Tears pricked her eyes. Sweet. He was so sweet. She found a vase in the kitchen and put the flowers in water. Could she call him? He was probably busy. But she should thank him. A text, then.

 

_ thank you for the flowers _

_ they helped on a hard day x _

 

you’re welcome, I’m glad you liked them

 

is it the kind of hard day where you want company

or to be left alone

 

_ I don’t know _

_ yes maybe _

 

yes to which part

 

_ company _

_ come over in a bit? If you’re free _

 

of course

well need to finish up some things here

seven ish? And we’ll do something to take your mind off it

 

_ OK _

 

_ thanks x _

 

* * *

 

At quarter to seven Anna realised she was still in her pyjamas. At least she’d showered, but she hadn’t brushed her hair. What did seven-ish mean? A bit before or a bit after? She was still scrambling into jeans and a clean top when the doorbell rang. Quick drag of the brush through her hair, no time for make-up, oh well. This was her face and if he didn’t like it -

Kristoff was wearing a shirt, and his nice jacket, and proper shoes. He’d been planning to take her out somewhere, clearly. Why was she such a disaster? The nice man had sent her flowers and wanted to take her out for dinner and she’d barely bothered to get  _ dressed _ .

“Hi,” she said, then “sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

He followed her through to the living room.

“Sorry, I didn’t think you meant….I thought you meant we could hang out here.”

“We can do that.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just...not really with it today.”

“It’s fine, Anna.” He sat down on the sofa. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No.” She paused. “I had breakfast.”

“Not lunch?”

“No. I’m hungry.” She sat down next to him and took out her phone. “What do you want? Pizza, Indian - ooh, Chinese.”

“Chinese sounds good. How do you just skip lunch without noticing?”

Anna tapped on her phone and then handed it to him. “Choose what you want, my treat.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, away with your - chivalry. And I slept quite long. Just to pass the time. So maybe I had lunch but not breakfast rather than the other way round.”

She took her phone back from him and completed the order. “Thirty minutes and someone will bring me food. I love living in the future. Speaking of which,” she picked up the remote, “Netflix. I get to choose because I’m sad today.”

“I - do not know how to argue with that.”

“Good. Best thing about this flat,” Anna said, scrolling down the menu, “Is that it’s cabled so the broadband is excellent. Where I lived before it was rubbish. It’s pretty much the only thing I like about this place.”

“What’s wrong with your flat? It’s fine.”

Anna pulled a face.

“Well,” Kristoff continued, “Do you not like where it is? The location?”

“No, that’s okay.”

“Good, because that’s the only thing you can’t change.”

“It’s just all - beige.”

“You  _ can _ change the colour of the walls, you know.”

“I know. I don’t know how.”

“Then pay someone else to do it. Or find a friend who does know how. Look -” He sat forward and looked round the room. “OK. Find a wallpaper you like - something colourful. Maybe flowers, yellow and green - do the wall behind the sofa. Pick a colour out from it, maybe yellow, and paint the other walls.”

“It’ll clash with the sofa. Which I did not choose, a friend was throwing it out.”

“You can get new covers for sofas, or just put something over it, a blanket or whatever. Get some cushions that go with the wallpaper. You know, things girls like.”

“Hmm.”

“What’s in all those boxes?”

“Books, mainly. Ornaments.”

“Couple of bookcases over there, then. Go to Ikea.”

“I can’t do flatpacks, it’s a disaster.”

“Jesus. Get some ready-made ones from somewhere else, then. Put some more pictures up.” He was looking round the room, and it was a moment before he glanced back at her and realised she was crying.

“Anna? Fuck.” He put his arm round her and pulled her towards him. “I’m sorry, just tell me to shut up.”

“S’not that - you’re right - I just -”

With his free arm Kristoff reached the tissue box on the coffee table and handed it to her. Anna pulled out a handful and rubbed at her face. “It’s just - I have to do everything. I’ve never lived alone before. I’m in my mid-thirties and I’ve never lived alone before. There’s so much, so many  _ things _ , and I can’t…”

He rubbed her arm. “It’ll get easier.”

“What if it doesn’t.”

“Anna…” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “I think in a year or two you’re going to look back and think, wow. I mean - not just the wedding thing. You moved to a new town, and a new job, you put basically the maximum amount of disruption into your life all at once. It’ll work out but of course this is super-stressful. You’re right in the middle of probably the most stressful period of your life.”

“My parents both died when I was seventeen.”

“Really? Fuck. Second-most, then. But still. It will get better. It will, you just need to keep going.”

Anna blew her nose, loudly. “It’s  _ shit _ ,” she said, with feeling.

“Yeah, I know. But it was always going to be. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before.”

“I save it for when I need it. And you’re the one who just got divorced.”

“Yeah, but I still have the same house, the same job, the same friends. And my family around. And we’d been separated for a while.”

Anna rested her cheek on his chest and he kissed the top of her head. “I’m going to end up decorating this living room, aren’t I,” Kristoff said. “I’ve had a sudden premonition.”

“That’s a very kind offer, thank you.”

“Oi. You’re going to help.”

“If you tell me what to do.”

“Of course.”

 

* * *

 

The food was reasonable, and old sitcoms as reliable a source of mild entertainment as always. Normally this would be a perfectly fine way to spend an evening, especially with a nice warm man to snuggle up against. But Anna still felt out of sorts. 

Well, she had an idea about how to cheer herself up. When the episode finished, she pulled Kristoff’s face round to hers and kissed him. When he started to turn back away she kissed him again, and tangled her fingers in his hair, and then he understood and pulled her into his arms. 

He wasn't as forceful as the previous weekend, but that was okay. When Anna turned a little in her seat and lay back against the sofa cushions, it didn’t take much encouragement to pull him along with her, to settle his weight above her, warm and safe. Anna wiggled her legs round until she could hook a foot behind his knee.

This was nice, very nice. Anna kissed him and tried to remember if she’d made her bed (no), and if she had any condoms (yes, but she couldn’t remember which drawer in her bedroom they were in) and what underwear she was wearing (cotton with a print of dancing owls, better get that off as quickly as possible). 

She moved her lips from his to kiss her way along his jaw and onto his neck; when she reached his ear she whispered “Shall we take this to the bedroom?” in the sexiest voice she could manage.

Kristoff pulled back a bit, breathing hard. He pushed himself up on his hands and she waited, thinking he was just catching his breath. Then he kissed her gently on the lips, just once, and said “I think - I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet.”

He sat up. Suddenly cold, Anna swung her legs round to sit next to him. “Oh,” she said, looking at her hands.

“It’s not you,” he said quickly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just -”

“It’s okay. I mean, of course it’s okay.” Anna swallowed hard. “You shouldn’t do anything you don’t want to.”

“Of course I  _ want _ to.”

“They why -”

“It just - means more to me. It’s not, casual. For me.”

Anna nodded, sniffed, and scrubbed at her eyes with the palms of her hands.

“Hey,” Kristoff said. “Stop that. Don’t start crying again over some old fart who’s so boring he only has sex with people he’s in a serious relationship with.”

Anna sniffed. “What do you mean, again.”

“You were definitely crying earlier. When I suggested you decorate your living room.”

She laughed but it turned into a sob. “I’ll stop, I’m sorry…”

He put an arm round her shoulder. “Would you like me to stay tonight?” he said quietly.

“But you just said…”

“I mean, just stay. Sleep here. So you're not by yourself.”

“I don't have a spare bed. And I don’t think you’ll fit on the sofa. So we’d have to - share.”

“That's fine.”

“You're sure? I'd like you to stay. If you're sure.”

“I suggested it, remember?”

“Okay, then. Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

Kristoff left to fetch his pyjamas and toothbrush (which had made Anna smile when he said it; like a sleepover. Which she supposed it was. Had half the reason she wanted to sleep with him been because she didn’t want to sleep alone tonight?  _ Let’s not think about that too hard, Anna). _

She brushed her own teeth, and put on clean pyjamas, and made her bed and tidied up her room a bit. What if he changed his mind once he got home?  _ Then you’ll be fine _ . Go to sleep, tomorrow is another day. Another day on which she should have been flying to Mauritius. Ugh.

The door buzzed, and it was Kristoff, with a rucksack slung over his back.

“Let’s do this, then,” he said.

 

* * *

 

“Goodnight,” Anna said, and turned out the light. She kept her back to him, then thought, was that rude? But they were just here to sleep. She half-turned; Kristoff was lying on his back, and he turned his face to her when she moved.

“This is a bit weird,” she said, feeling awkward. “I mean, isn’t it? I’ll try not to - molest you in my sleep, or anything.”

“Believe me,” he said. “It's quite possible to share a bed with someone night after night and never touch at all.” 

He didn't sound bitter as he said it, just sad, and Anna thought about how lonely that must have been.

“I'm sorry,” she said, rolling onto her back next to him. “I'm so wrapped up in myself today.”

“I think you're allowed to be, today.”

“What was she like?”

Kristoff hesitated. Then he said, “I don't know, about five foot six? Dark hair, blue eyes.”

“You know that’s not what I meant. What happened? I mean, if you want to tell me,” she added hurriedly.

Kristoff was silent for a while, and Anna worried she’d over-stepped. Then he said, “Lots of things. Lots of little things. But the one big thing was that before we got married we both said we wanted to have children one day, one day soon, then afterwards she changed her mind.”

“Oh.”

“Well, it wasn’t as clear-cut as that - there was always some reason to wait. For her. And...I don’t know. We started arguing about it a lot. And there were other things, too, but maybe we could have got through them.”

Anna put out her hand and found his. 

“Last year,” he continued, “It was bad. But I remember, one evening - we’d had dinner and we were clearing up, and it was - calm - but I just remember knowing, so clearly, that it was going to end. That it was inevitable. And it was really...” He ran his free hand over his face. “It was really fucking sad.”

“I’m sorry.”

He squeezed her hand. “And here we are,” he said. “I survived. So will you.”

“Just about. But what now?”

“Now you go to sleep.” He squeezed her hand again and let it go. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight. And thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Go to sleep.”


	6. Chapter Six

Anna opened her eyes. She was lying on her side, and someone was watching her. He smiled when he saw that she was awake. 

“Good morning, beautiful.”

“Morning.” She was smiling back; she couldn’t help it. Kristoff stroked her hair back from her face, then put his arm round her and pulled her towards him. Anna snuggled up against his chest.

“Were you watching me sleep? Weirdo.”

“You looked so pretty.”

“I was probably drooling.”

“Hey, now. None of us can help what we find attractive.” 

Anna snorted. “What’s the time?”

Kristoff peered over her to see the clock. “Just gone eight. Do you have anywhere to be?”

“No, just curious.”

He kissed her on the top of the head. “Tea?”

“Mm. In a minute. ‘M ver’ cosy.”

“OK.” He stroked her hair. She fell back asleep.

* * *

When Anna woke up again she was alone in the bed, but Kristoff was just walking out of the room, stretching as he did so. His moving must have been what had woken her. She turned and looked at the clock; it was closer to nine now. Probably time to be getting up.

She could hear Kristoff in the kitchen. He filled the kettle and put it on, then leant on the worktop, lost in thought. Anna watched him from the doorway. His pyjamas were grey, long trousers and short sleeves, and the fabric was soft and pilled from wear. His feet were bare, and for some reason that made a little ache in Anna’s heart. He looked at home.

Yesterday! She’d been supposed to marry a completely different man, yesterday! And now….she wanted Kristoff to be at home here. She wanted to walk into the kitchen and find him making tea in his pyjamas, and to have him smile at her when she woke up. She didn’t want him to go.

_ You always rush into everything.  _ This was supposed to just be a little easy, comfortable thing, a cosy space to rest until they both felt ready for a real relationship again. But it was rapidly becoming much more than that. She couldn’t imagine that mythical future man, her husband, the father of her children; she didn’t want him. She wanted Kristoff. She wanted this.

The kettle clicked off and Kristoff started looking for mugs. He saw Anna in the doorway and smiled. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s okay. I am prepared to concede,” she said, walking over to him, “That it is morning.”

She let him fold her back into his arms.  _ Don’t let me go, _ she thought.  _ I think that maybe, possibly, I love you. I’m sorry. _

* * *

It was a couple of weeks later. She’d seen him all day at work (or at least a few times, and they’d eaten lunch together as they often did, and walked home together), but Anna still found herself missing Kristoff that Friday evening. Maybe it was because they hadn’t made any plans for the weekend, so she didn’t know if she’d see him before Monday. Or maybe she was just bored. Either way, at half-six she found herself putting on her shoes and walking down the road to find him.

She didn’t think about whether she should have called first until she rang the doorbell. Too late now. After a moment she saw Kristoff through the frosted glass panel, and she heard him say “This’ll be them now,” to someone behind him as he opened it.

“Oh!” he said when he saw her, and smiled. “Hi, Anna.”

“Hi, I was just….oh, you have guests, I'll go.”

“No, it's fine. Come in.”

He ushered her in and closed the door behind her before she could protest. “What's up?”

“Nothing, really, I just wondered if you were busy, but you are, so -”

“Join us,” a man’s voice called from the living room. “The more the merrier.”

“I just have some people over for dinner,” Kristoff said. “Stay.” He waved her into the living room. “These are my friends Sven and Jessica, and this is Ben -” he gestured at a little boy sitting on the floor playing with some toy cars - “and that's Daisy -” he pointed at the baby Jessica was holding. “And my parents will be here in a minute. This is my friend Anna from work,” he said to the room. “Let me just check on the food.”

“Lovely to meet you,” Jessica said. “At last,” Sven said cheerfully. 

Anna stood awkwardly, wondering what Kristoff had been saying about her. He'd introduced her as his friend. Should she just be his friend? Was that what he wanted?

“Sven,” Jessica said, “Did you bring in the other bag, is it in the car?”

“No. Yes. It's in the car.”

Jessica sighed and handed him the baby. “Hold this. Back in a sec.” 

She left, and as the door shut behind her Ben shouted “MUMMY DADDY MY CAR.”

Anna and Sven looked down, and saw the little boy lying full length on the floor, peering under the sofa. 

“Blast,” Sven said. “Here, hold this,” and he handed Anna the baby and lay down on the floor beside his son.

Anna juggled the baby onto her shoulder.

“Kristoff,” Sven called, “Do you have anything long? Like a metre rule?”

“Like a what?” Kristoff came back through, taking off oven gloves.

“It's all the way at the back.”

“Then pull the sofa forwards, hang on, move up -”

The doorbell rang. “That'll be my mum,” Kristoff said. “Hang on.”

“Aha!” Sven said triumphantly. “There you go, son.” He held up the car. “Now where did I put your sister? If I lose her Mummy will be cross.”

“Um, here,” Anna said. “Here, take her before I drop her -”

“Is that something you're planning to do?” Sven said, taking back the baby. 

Anna hung back as Kristoff’s friend greeted his parents. Jessica had returned also, holding a huge changing bag, and they clearly all knew each other well and were happy to see each other. Anna wondered if she should make her excuses and leave, but when she edged towards the door Kristoff came through it from the kitchen and handed her a glass of wine.

“Food in ten,” he said, trying to pass another glass to his mother, but she waved him away in favour of holding the baby.

Anna followed Kristoff back through to the kitchen. “Are you sure you don't want me to go? I could have an important Thing that I need to go and do.”

“Do you? Have a thing.”

“No.”

“Well, then.”

“I'm intruding -”

“You come here when you don't want to be alone,” Kristoff said. “There's plenty of people in this house and I was worried I'd done too many potatoes as it is. Stay.”

Anna hesitated, twirling her glass. “What's for dinner?”

“Roast chicken.”

Sven came into the kitchen and started wordlessly rifling through the top drawer. 

“What’re you doing?” Kristoff said after a minute.

“Setting another place at the table,” Sven said. “Since you can’t count. We’re one short.”

“He didn’t know I was coming,” Anna said.

“A likely story,” Sven said. “Never mind, I’ve got you,” and he went through to the dining room, holding a handful of cutlery.

* * *

Anna had seen Kristoff eating leftovers for lunch at work, so she knew he liked to cook. He’d even offered to make her dinner a couple of times, though they’d never got round to it. But since he’d finished work he’d managed to make roast chicken, roast potatoes, vegetables, yorkshire puddings and gravy for six-and-a-half people, and it was delicious. She’d underestimated his abilities by some margin.

And god, his friends were nice, and their children delightful; his parents were lovely and friendly and welcoming, and no one seemed to mind that she’d gatecrashed a dinner party. Anna could tell that Kristoff’s parents, his mother in particular, were trying to size her up and work out whether she was Kristoff’s girlfriend. She wondered if she should tell them that she wasn’t really sure herself.

* * *

Sven and Jessica left straight after dinner to put the children to bed. Kristoff’s parents stayed a little longer for a final cup of tea, then they said goodnight as well and Kristoff went to the door to see them out.

When he came back into the kitchen Anna was sitting at the breakfast bar, refilling her wine glass. She took a deep drink from it and said “We should have a baby.”

“I’m sorry?”

“No, look, look. It makes sense. You want to be a father, right? At some point. It’s something you want from your life. Right?”

“Well, yes.”

“OK. And I want to have a baby. And we’re both employed and have safe places to live and everything. So we should just do it. We wouldn’t have to live together or anything, we could share it. One week on, one week off. Ooooorr we could have TWO babies. One each.”

“Come on,” Kristoff said, taking the wine glass from her and putting it in the sink. “I'll walk you home.”

“Your mum liked me. She'd be happy.”

“She probably would, at that.”

“Then let's -”

“No.”

“Everyone makes jokes about biological clocks,” Anna said as they walked down the front steps, “But it’s true. I turned thirty and my ovaries just starting shouting at me.”

“You’ve plenty of time yet.”

Anna looked him up and down. “Do you think you’ll get married again? One day?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t turn out to be very good at it.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Well, it’s true.”

“With someone else it would be different.”

“Different, sure.”

He set his jaw. Anna walked alongside him in a silence for a minute.

“How about you?” Kristoff said suddenly. “Do you still want to get married?”

“Of course, some day. But. I don’t know if I want to plan a wedding again? Or not the same wedding, obviously, but then…” She paused. “Like my dress. It was  _ so pretty _ , and if I went looking for another dress to marry someone else, would I deliberately look for something different? But then that was my favourite! I don’t want a second-best dress to marry the actually-decent man. But I’d be stuck between choosing the dress I was going to marry Matt in, or a dress I don’t like as much. Which would be rubbish.”

“Get married on a beach, then,” Kristoff said. “Wear a white bikini and sunglasses. Sparkly flip-flops.”

Anna laughed. “I guess that’s an option. And the groom in board shorts. No. A speedo.”

He smiled. “It sounds like a classy event, I hope I’m invited.”

Anna couldn’t think what to say, so she said nothing. Kristoff didn’t seem to notice.

They’d reached her building; Anna stopped at the door and Kristoff stopped with her, his hands in his pockets.

“Do I get a goodnight kiss?” she said. 

“Of course.” He cupped the side of her face and kissed her; nicely, but quickly.

“Not like that,” she said. “Properly.” He smiled, and she reached up to wrap her arms round his shoulders. “Like this,” she said, and kissed him. She felt him smile briefly against her lips, then he slid one arm round her waist and the other round to cup the back of her head with his hand, holding her in place while he deepened the kiss. 

“Like that?” he said, when he finally pulled back.

“I -” Anna said, and stopped herself in time. “Yes. Like that.”

Kristoff smiled. “Goodnight, then.” He didn’t release her, still holding her in his arms. 

“Goodnight.” Anna didn’t move, either. Instead she kissed him again, and another time, not wanting him to leave but not wanting to risk inviting rejection by asking him to come upstairs.

A car drove along the road and they jumped, separating only slightly.

“I feel like a teenager,” Anna said. She meant, because they were standing kissing on a street corner, but when Kristoff said softly “Me too,” she felt her stomach swoop.

“We could elope,” she said, not thinking about the words until they were out. “We could just go, not worry about dresses or flower arrangements or, or any of that. Just go, and do it, and…”

Kristoff’s eyes were searching her face. He said nothing, just gently stroked his hand over her hair. Anna waited for him to tell her that she was being silly, that she should go home,for him to ask her what the hell she was talking about.

She waited. And then he said, quietly, “I don’t know what to do.”

“About what?”

He let his hands drop, then, and took half a step backwards. 

“I - this is all new to me,” he said. “I feel like - we only just met, it’s only been a couple of months, and yet - I know you. I know - that I love you. I want to spend my life with you. And I never - this is so fast and so sudden but it feels right. It doesn’t feel like me, at all.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “I feel like I'm going mad.”

“In a - good way?” Anna said in a small voice.

“I don't know. I -” He looked up at the sky, then back at her. “I don’t know what to do. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea. It’s too soon.”

“Kris -”

“You don’t want to marry me, Anna,” he said. “I couldn’t do it. I tried, but I wasn’t good enough. You deserve better.”

“Don’t you dare -” He was backing away now, and she followed him. “Don’t you dare go!  _ Kristoff _ .” But he was walking away, and what could she do? 

“I love you,” she said, and she thought he paused for a split-second, but he didn’t turn back.


	7. Chapter 7

Anna’s eyes were blind with tears by the time she opened her flat door. She went straight through to the bedroom and threw herself on the bed.  _ What the - FUCK - is wrong with you. You can’t just tell men you’re not even officially seeing that you want to marry them and have their babies. Of course they’re going to freak out and run away. You MORON. _

She rolled over and stared at the ceiling. That same stupid ceiling. She should put something up there, the amount of time she spent lying here alone staring at it. Maybe one of those Where’s Wally posters like they had at the dentist. 

Her phone rang, waking her from a doze, and Anna forced herself up to find her handbag, which she had dropped somewhere in the hall.

It was a number she didn’t recognise. Anna answered it automatically. “Hello?”

“Ah, hi, this is Sven McAllister? We met earlier this evening, Kristoff gave me your number, I’m here with him now, he has something to say to you - yes he fucking does, come back here -” There was the sound of a door slamming. “Oh, Jesus. He’s just - okay. I’d better - just quickly, sorry, Anna, are you still there?”

“Yes?”

“Quick message. He’s a fucking idiot, we all know this, but please don’t give up on him. Okay. I’d better go, sorry to disturb you -” The call disconnected.

Anna looked down at her phone, her heart thumping.  _ Don’t give up on him _ . 

There was a knock at the flat door, or rather a series of thumps. She put down the phone and went to look through the peephole. Kristoff was leaning against the opposite wall, out of breath - and he must have run straight here, to be outside her door so quickly. Anna steadied herself and opened the door. Kristoff pushed himself onto his feet.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry. Sven rang a bit after I got home and asked about you, and I - told him some of what happened, and he came back over and shouted at me and took my phone.”

“He said you were an - effing idiot,” Anna said.

Kristoff smiled ruefully. “He said that to me, too. Several times. And I’m not saying he’s wrong.”

“And he said I shouldn’t give up on you.”

Kristoff sighed. “It’s been a long year,” he said. “For you too, I know. Maybe I feel like - I’ve given up on me, why shouldn’t you.”

“Your friends clearly haven’t.”

“Sven’s been my best friend nearly twenty years. If he was going to give up on me, he’s had plenty of opportunities.”

“You’re so lucky, to have a friend like that.”

“I know.” Kristoff pulled a face. “I hope he’s not still looking for me.”

They were both silent for a minute. Kristoff looked at his feet.

“I meant it,” Anna said. “What I said, on the street. I meant it. I love you.”

“I know. I love you too.”

Another silence.

“So now what?” Anna said. “Now we’ve got ourselves here, now what?”

Kristoff’s phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket, smiled at the screen, and answered it with “I’m at Anna’s, I’m talking to her, go home to your family, you mad Scottish bastard.”

He listened for a minute. “I’ve got one. OK. Go home. Bye.” He hung up. “He was worried I’d run out without a key and locked myself out.”

“That's the kind of thing I do. Lock myself out, I mean. Plus, you know, general tendency to leap without even  _ considering  _ looking - and saying the first thing that’s on my mind and going too fast -”

“Anna. It’s okay.”

“No, it's not - look. I'm sorry. We can go as slow as you want, okay? I can do that, I can. I promise. I just don't want to lose you.”

He nodded. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm so…”

“You're fine.” Anna stepped forward and hugged him. After a second he hugged her back. 

“Kristoff,” she said into his chest, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course?”

“Am I your girlfriend?”

“I'd like that.”

“Me too.”

He kissed the top of her head. “It's settled, then.”

 

* * *

 

Taking it slow. Okay, she could do that. So she didn’t see him on Saturday (although she did text him a bit), and on Sunday he came round and watched a film and at no point did Anna say ‘if I’m your girlfriend does that mean we can have sex now’ and it was nice and cosy and they kissed a bit on the sofa and then he went home because it was a school night.

 

She wondered if she should ring Sven and thank him. Would that be weird? Probably.

 

Anna had also wondered if it would feel awkward at work but it felt the same as ever. Judy did have once to ring down to IT to find her, but she really was there for a genuine reason and she’d have been back in a couple of minutes anyway. Probably. Why were leaflets for a dog grooming business an ‘emergency’ anyway.

 

* * *

 

On Thursday, Kristoff and Anna walked home together, so when he rang her ten minutes later she was a little surprised.

“Quick question,” he said, “Are you free this weekend?”

“Yes, I think so. What day?”

“Both days.”

“Are we going somewhere?”

“Maybe. Are you free?”

“Yes, sure.”

“OK. Bye -”

“Wait! What’s this about?”

“It’s a surprise. I’ll come over later and tell you.” And he hung up.

A couple of hours later there was a knock on Anna’s door. It was the person she was expecting.

“Denmark,” he said.

“Denmark?”

“You can just email them your documents and then turn up and get married. No waiting period. Pretty much anywhere else in the EU it takes at least a week, I’ve been looking into it and really you’d need more than a weekend to go to Las Vegas or somewhere, but - and I rang this Danish company earlier and spoke to a very nice lady called Gerda and they have a cancellation for this Saturday. Four PM. Said I’d let her know in the morning. And send her scans of your birth certificate and passport and everything. If, you know. That’s something you still want to do.” He paused for breath, leaning on the doorframe. 

“Kristoff,” Anna said. “Is this - a proposal?”

“I - I mean, it was your idea - but yes. Yes I suppose it is.” He laughed. “Will you marry me? In Denmark? On Saturday?”

“Is that why you asked if I was free this weekend?”

“Yes. I mean, we can just go and have a mini-break or whatever, we don’t have to do the wedding part if you don’t want.”

“But you do? You said - and I don’t want to rush you -”

“Last time, I was sensible. Last time I waited and I planned how I was going to ask her and we lived together first for six months to make sure, and we saved up for a deposit and it was all so  _ organised _ and then it just - went to shit. You can do everything right and it still goes wrong. So I was just - fuck it.  _ Fuck  _ it. I love you. Let’s get married.”

Anna laughed. “Okay,” she said. “Okay. Yes. Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes. Just one thing, though, and don’t take this the wrong way -”

“What?”

“....have you been drinking?”

He laughed. “No. I’m just - life’s short, you know? Life’s so fucking short. Marry me.”

“I already said I would. And, um, you don’t have to stand in the doorway, come in.”

He came through, kicked the door shut behind him, and pulled her into his arms.

“You’re very masterful today,” she said, laughing.

“I know what I want, so I thought I’d come and get it,” he said. “Sorry, that was a bit much, wasn’t it?”

She kissed him, still giggling. He kissed her back, but had to stop when he also started laughing.

“Let’s not tell anyone until after we’ve done it,” Anna said.

“Isn’t that the point of eloping?” Kristoff said. Then he pulled a face. “My mother’s going to go spare.”

“And my sister. But I don’t care. Did you already organise flights and everything?”

“Flights, car hire, hotel. We’ll have to get the train to the airport. We can sneak out at lunchtime tomorrow and get rings, that’s all, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I think so. Yes. That’s everything.”


	8. Chapter 8

_ You have arrived at your destination _ , the satnav on Kristoff’s phone announced as he put on the handbrake and turned off the car engine. "Last chance to change your mind," he said.

His tone was light but Anna knew he was serious. She looked up through the hire car windscreen at the dull grey municipal building in front of them and felt a tiny pang for the beautiful wedding she had been planning just a few months ago (with the flowers, and the personalised favours, and the table centrepieces, and the three-course sit-down meal for thirty). 

But when she looked over at Kristoff it was easy to remember what was really important. She  smiled at him. "Ready if you are," she said, and he smiled back.

"Let's go, then," he said.

* * *

 

The first meeting was brief and mainly involved showing the originals of the documents they had sent by email. Then, just as Anna was steeling herself to say her marriage vows in someone's office, the official - Gerda - stood and said "Well, shall we go out to the garden?"

On their way back down the stairs Gerda gathered two of her colleagues to be witnesses, then lead them all across the car park. Anna followed, lost in thought until Kristoff took her hand and squeezed it. She looked up at him in surprise and he lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them.

Gerda ushered them through a gate and along a path. "A little this way," she said, "And there is a -" she hesitated, turned to her colleague and said something in Danish. He shrugged. Gerda waved a hand. "You will see. Anyway, you have missed most of the flowers for this year, but it is still nice I think."

"I'm sure it is," Anna said politely, then "Pergola!" as they turned a corner in the path.

"That's it," Gerda said, "A pergola. Now, you both stand here, and I will stand here, and if you give Vilhem your mobile telephone he will take some photographs for you if you like."

"Oh, yes," Anna said, rummaging in her bag. She unlocked her phone and handed it to the man indicated, then put out her hand so Kristoff could take it again. He tugged on her hand, and when she turned he bent down and kissed her, lightly, on the lips. "Alright?" he said softly.

"Perfect," Anna replied. Gerda cleared her throat and they both turned to face her.

 

* * *

 

They dined at the hotel restaurant that evening. It was busy on a Saturday night, and halfway through the meal a band starting setting up in the corner of the tiny dancefloor. Afterwards Anna couldn't remember what she had to eat or drink; all she could remember was spending most of the time smiling at her husband sitting opposite, not being able to stop smiling. They'd agreed not to tell anyone back home what they'd done until the next day, and the fun of the secret just added to Anna's glee. She wasn't even worried about her sister's reaction. 

Kristoff just smiled back, and every time his hand was free he sneaked it across the table to take hers. He particularly liked to take her left hand and run his thumb over the new band of gold on her ring finger.

"I'm just realising," Anna said after their meal was over and they were finishing a last glass of wine, "How much I don't know about you. I don't even know what car you drive."

"Probably because I don't," Kristoff replied. "I walk everywhere.  _ You _ drive a red Fiat 500."

"I do. Why don't you have a car? I know you drive, you drove today."

Kristoff pulled a face. "It wasn't mine."

"What?"

He sighed. "I didn't really want to think about her this weekend, but if you insist - it was Leanne's car, I was just on her insurance although I assume I'm not any more. I haven't replaced it because I don't really need one so it seemed pointless to spend the money."

"I'll let you drive mine if you're careful with her," Anna said. "And if you fit in the driver's seat."

Kristoff smiled. "It's fine, you can be my chauffeur."

He picked up his half-full glass and swirled it. “Anything else you want to know?” he said. “Though it’s too late to question me about my terrible personal habits.”

“I don’t know. Um. Do you have any tattoos?”

“No. Do you?”

“Yes, one.”

“Really? Where?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

“I look forward to it,” he said, and Anna felt herself blush. Which was ridiculous.

“It’s not anywhere -” she said. “I mean, it’s on my shoulder blade.”

“What’s it of?”

“A sunflower. Well, the sunflower is a cover-up, but they did a really good job, you can’t tell.”

“A cover-up for what?”

Anna sighed. “Okay, here’s a life tip for you - if you think someone’s about to break up with you, don’t get their name tattooed on you to show them how much you love them. Because they’ll freak out and  _ definitely _ break up with you. The sunflower was my sister’s idea.”

Kristoff nodded. “I’ll bear that in mind.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“That I have another man’s name tattooed on me. Even if you can’t see it.”

“Anna, I can hardly complain about something that happened years ago - I’m assuming this was years ago -”

“Oh, god, yes. I was eighteen and a half, my sister went down to the tattoo parlour and shouted at everybody for letting me do it.”

“Exactly. I can hardly complain about that when I was married to someone else  _ earlier this year _ .”

“It’s okay,” Anna said, putting down her glass and taking his hands across the table. “I mean it. I was engaged to someone else at the time, for goodness sake.”

“True.”

The band changed to a slower song and the dancefloor started to fill with swaying couples.

“Let’s dance,” Anna said. “Come on.”

Kristoff hesitated, then drained his drink and stood to let her pull him over to the dancefloor.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” he said, putting his arms loosely round her waist. Anna draped hers over his shoulders. “This is fine,” she said. “Stop doing that face.”

“Sorry.”

A new song began, and Anna laughed.

“What is it? Is my dancing that bad?”

“No, the song. I just realised what song it is.  _ Wise men say, only fools rush in -” _

“But I can’t help, falling in love with you.” He laughed too. “Is this our song?”

“Why not.” 

She rested her head on his chest and he kissed her hair. “Let’s go upstairs,” she whispered, and wasn’t sure for a moment whether he had heard her; then he moved his hand from her waist to lift her chin, and kissed her gently on the lips. “Let’s,” he said quietly.

 

* * *

 

Anna found herself watching Kristoff’s hands as he unlocked the hotel room door. Neither of them had said anything as they’d walked up the stairs; they’d shared conspiratorial glances and smiles, and it felt to Anna like they were sneaking out, running away. 

Now he was opening the door, and holding out a hand to usher her in; now he was locking it again behind them, putting on the chain. Anna stood just inside the door -beside the bed - her heart thumping. For something to do, she took out her hair-clip and combed her hair down with her fingers.

Kristoff had turned and was watching her. He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak, then closed it and shook his head. Instead, he walked over to her and ran his fingers through her hair to cup the side of her face. His expression was so soft, so tender, that Anna felt her eyes pricking. She put her hand on his shoulder and pulled herself up to kiss him. 

She kissed him, and slipped her hands up his chest and over his shoulders to push his jacket off and onto the floor. He wrapped his arms round her, holding her close, and when Anna kicked off her shoes he lifted her up bodily without breaking the kiss and tumbled them onto the bed.

Then suddenly he broke away, looking worried.

“What is it?” Anna asked.

“Are you on the pill?”

“No?”

He sighed. “I forgot to bring any condoms. What an idiot. I don’t suppose you did?”

“No…”

He stood and bent to pick up his jacket.  “Maybe if I go down and ask at the bar -”

Anna put her hand on his arm. “Kristoff! Wait. Um. Do we need one? I mean. I’m good if you are.”

He turned back to her. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I - you know, I don’t think it’s the right time of the month anyway so I don’t think there’s much risk, and obviously after I found out everything with Matt I got myself checked out and everything, in case, so that’s fine, but like I said, there’s a risk but not much of one -”

He kissed her full on the mouth and pushed her back onto the bed. 

 

* * *

  
Kristoff fell asleep before Anna did. She watched him sleeping for a minute, then pulled her left hand out from under the covers and held it up. She’d barely had time to get used to her ring finger being bare and now it wasn’t again.  _ Have we done something really stupid?  _ she thought.  _ Oh, god, what’s everyone going to say? _


	9. Chapter 9

“What time is our flight?”

“I emailed you all the details.”

“Yes, and it’s very sweet that you think I read them.”

Kristoff rolled his eyes. “One fifteen. So you need to put some clothes on if you want breakfast.”

Anna rolled onto her front. Kristoff leant over and kissed the sunflower on her shoulder. “We could just stay in bed,” she said.

“Mmm. Don’t tempt me.”

“Who needs to go back to England, anyway.”

“We have work tomorrow.”

“We could both be mysteriously ill.”

She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled herself up to kiss him, drawing him back down onto the bed. “I’m not done with you yet,” she murmured in his ear.

“I should hope not.” He gently pulled away from her, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“I mean, obviously I was concerned you might be terrible at it,” Anna said. “Having already bought the cow, as it were.”

He laughed. “Well, I hope I acquitted myself reasonably well. I didn’t intend to wait until our actual wedding night,” he added, “I’m not quite that old-fashioned. It just turned out that way, didn’t it.”

“Mm. Do we really have to go home?”

“You know we do.”

“And face the music.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to tell everyone it was your idea, and no one will believe me, even though that is the truth,” Anna said.

“You gave me the idea.”

“And I hope this has taught you never to listen to any of my ideas.”

He smiled at her. “Quite the opposite, unfortunately.”

“Well, then, you’re doomed,” Anna said cheerfully. “Might as well come back to bed.”

 

* * *

 

The airport was an hour’s drive away. “I’m going to ring my sister,” Anna said a few minutes after they started. “Might as well do it now, right? Are you going to ring your mum or will we go and see them?”

“Better go and see them. Face it head-on.”

Anna laughed as she pulled out her phone. “OK. The best thing with Elsa is to set the tone right from the start. Here goes.” She put the phone to her ear and waited for her sister to pick up.

“Hi Elsa, it’s me! Do you have a minute?....I have some really exciting news!”

Pause. “Well, this won’t take a moment….Kristoff and I got married!”

A longer pause. “Well, we had to go to Denmark - yesterday, we’re just driving back to the airport - isn’t it great? I’m so happy!”

Pause. “Yes, actually legally married.”

Pause. “NO I’m not pregnant! For goodness -”

Pause. “Yes.” Pause. “You’ll have to come over. Soon! I know you’ll love him just as much as I do - well, no, not JUST as much as I do, that’d be awkward - you know what I mean.”

Pause. “Okay. Yes. Okay.” Pause. “I’ll speak to you soon, then. Okay, bye.”

She hung up. “I think that went pretty well.”

“...really?”

“Oh, yes. She doesn’t like being taken by surprise, you know, put on the spot? Once it’s sunk in she’ll be calmer about it.”

He nodded.

“And she was all, ‘I can’t believe you married someone I’ve never met’ which is a fair point I suppose but then I haven’t met any of your relatives other than your mum and dad that one time.”

“At least they’ve met you. If they hadn’t, I’d be in  _ real _ trouble.”

Anna laughed. “It’ll be fine! I’m a delight.”

He smiled. “You are.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh, hello, love,” Kristoff’s mum said when they arrived on her doorstep later that afternoon. “And Anna! Lovely to see you, are you stopping? I’ll put the kettle on.”

“That’d be great, Mum,” Kristoff said. 

“Up to much?”

Anna and Kristoff looked at each other. “We went away for the weekend,” Anna said. “Well, just last night, we just got back.”

“Oh, lovely! Anywhere nice?” Beryl flicked the kettle on and turned round. Then she did a double-take. “Kristoff. Why are you wearing your wedding ring?” She snatched up his left hand. “ _ This isn’t your wedding ring,  _ this is new -” with her other hand she grabbed Anna’s left hand, and made a noise that was somewhere between a snort and a squeal.

“Um, yeah,” Kristoff said. “We went to Denmark and got married.”

“Denmark?  _ Married? _ ” Beryl Bjorgman was speechless for a moment, then she gasped. “You - needed to get married? Because -”

“No!” Anna said. “No. No, we just -”

“- wanted to,” Kristoff finished for her. “Nothing else, Mum.”

“Okay.” Beryl settled back on her heels. “Well, you can’t blame me for wondering.”

“I know.”

 

Kristoff’s mother looked like she was about to say something more, then threw her arms around Anna, hugging her warmly. “Welcome to the family,” she said.

 

* * *

 

“So shall we go by yours and get some more of your clothes and things?” Kristoff said as they went back out to Anna’s car, after two cups of tea, a piece of cake, and taking part in several speakerphone conversations with Kristoff’s siblings.

“What?”

“We’ve got some time, we can start moving you over? Do the rest later in the week.”

She stared at him for a minute, then laughed. “Oh! Yes! Of course!” She laughed again. “We’re married. We live together now. At your house. Yes, I should get more of my work clothes and toiletries and things.”

“Did you not want to live at mine? I’m sorry, we didn’t discuss it.”

“Oh, no, you have a lovely big house and I rent a tiny ugly flat, of course we’ll live at yours. I’ll ring the letting agency tomorrow....no, I was just focussed on the  _ married  _ part and wasn’t thinking about all the boring day-to-day things like work clothes and, I don’t know, joint bank accounts and putting you on my car insurance and all that kind of nonsense.”

“Well, we don’t have to do everything today.”

Anna’s phone rang and she fished it out of her bag. “It’s Elsa.” She took a deep breath and answered it. “Hey!”

Her tone was bright but Kristoff could see how she’d tensed her shoulders as soon as she saw the caller ID.

“I’m fine,” Anna said into the phone, after a pause. “Well, yes, he is, but -” she put her head on one side as she was interrupted, and chewed on her lip. “I can call you later,” she said, then there another long pause. “Look, Els, I know, but - yes - I’ll call you in a bit, okay? I’m not at home, I’m walking down the street - well, of course - I’ll text it to you, okay? Okay. Talk later. Okay. Bye.”

She put the phone away from her ear and hung up. “Boy, am I in trouble,” she said. “‘I don’t even know where you’re living, I don’t know my own sister’s address’, let me just text it to her quickly, what’s your postcode? Our postcode.”

He told her. “She’s angry with you?”

Anna bit her lip again. “Yeah. I mean, she’s acting like she’s concerned for me, but yeah, she’s angry with me.Or she just…I mean, she does worry about me. Of course. There’s just the two of us, and she’s older, so....but sometimes she’s just...I don’t know. I wish...”

She started walking again, and Kristoff followed her. “You wish what?” he said.

“I don’t know….your sisters, and your brother, we rang them and they were all happy, or at least they were willing to TRY and be happy, you know, at least they accept that you’re an adult and you can make decisions and they won’t AUTOMATICALLY be bad ones -”

“Hey,” Kristoff said, catching up with her as they reached the car. He put his arm round her shoulders and she leant into him. “Tell you what.”

“What?”

“We’ll live happily ever after. That’ll show her.”

Anna pulled a face, then smiled. “Yes, and it’ll serve her right.”

She walked round and got into the driver’s seat. “Also,” she said.

“Also what?” Kristoff said as he put on his seatbelt.

“Um. Elsa thinks, or I think Elsa thinks, that I just married you because I don’t want to be, you know, left on the shelf, and because I want to have a baby, which I do, but, that’s not  _ why _ I married you, you know…”

“I know.”

“And she also definitely thinks that you just married me for my money, but you don’t even know about that, so -”

Kristoff opened his mouth but Anna was still talking. “And I’m sorry, I should have told you, I know, but - it always niggled at me, I always worried that was why  _ Matt  _ wanted to marry me, so. And there never seemed like a good moment. So I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what? What money?”

“Um. When my parents died, they left us some money, and it was put in like a trust, and I couldn’t get it until I was thirty, and by then of course I was working and stuff and I didn’t need it right away so it’s mostly still there. I bought this car. But the rest is still there. I’m not sure exactly how much because it’s invested in things but, like, I could pay your mortgage -”

“You don’t have to pay anything off my mortgage, Anna -”

“Well, it’s silly to pay interest when you don’t have to, paying it off and saving that interest would be a better investment than whatever piddly amount of interest it’s earning wherever it is -”

“- wait. Wait. Pay it off?”

“Yes?”

“Anna, I have almost no equity in that house. I had to buy Leanne out, I owe basically all of it, it’s a lot.” 

She said nothing.

“Anna, how much money are we talking about?”

She tucked a piece of hair behind her hair, and, avoiding his eyes, said. “Um. I’m not  _ exactly  _ sure, but based on the last statements and things…”

“Anna.”

“....about - just under a million. I think.”

“A million POUNDS?”

“Yes.”

“Pounds STERLING?”

“Yes.”

Kristoff said nothing. He was staring into space. Anna hesitated, then started the car. “...is that okay?” she said.

“Holy fucking shit.”

“Sorry.”

“I can - I can see why your sister would have that concern.”

“I guess.”

“I mean, Jesus  _ Christ _ .”

“Sorry.”

“Stop apologising...I mean, I can see why you didn’t mention it.”

Anna pulled out and drove down the road. “So will you let me pay off your mortgage?”

“I…” he sighed. “It does seem silly not to.”

“Exactly.”

“Your name is going on the deed as well, though. Well, I guess we’d have done that anyway.”

“Mmhmm.”

Kristoff drummed his fingers on the armrest. “I was wondering how we would afford it if you wanted to give up work when we had children, I suppose I don’t have to worry about that any more.”

Anna smiled. “No. See, I solve all your problems.”

“Apparently you do.”

They had reached Anna’s road by now and she spent a few minutes finding a parking space on the road. “Your house has a drive,” she said cheerfully. “I’ll enjoy that.”

“I’m glad.”

“And I never really unpacked properly,” she said as they went up the stairs and into the flat. “So that’s handy. All these boxes can come straight over, another day. Let me just sort out clothes and things….” She went through to the bedroom.

Kristoff wandered into the kitchen. “Shall I clear out your fridge?” he called through.

“Oh, yes, good idea, there’s some bags under the sink I think...”

“OK. I’m going to throw away everything that’s out of date,” he added after a minute.

“Fine, whatever. Hang on, wait,” she said coming back through.

“What? This yogurt is nearly three months old, you’re not bringing it -”

“No, not that.” She put her hands on her hips. “Did you marry me just so you wouldn’t have to help me decorate?”

“What?”

His phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket. “Sven,” he said, and answered it with a “Hello?” And then said nothing else for several minutes, other than mouthing “I think my mother rang him,” at Anna. Then, into the phone, “Yes.” Then “Seemed like a good idea at the time.” Another longer pause, then he said “No she is not, and you’re the third person to ask that.”

Anna groaned.

 

* * *

 

Anna parked on his drive - so convenient! - and they got out of the car. She opened the boot but Kristoff said “Hang on, wait a minute, leave that. Come here.”

He led her over to the door and unlocked it, then turned and said “Ready?”

“Yes? Oh!” He scooped her up in his arms and stepped over the threshold and into the house.

“Welcome home,” he said, and put her down with a kiss. When Anna pulled away she laughed. “I live here,” she said, “And I’ve never been upstairs. I don’t know what my own bed looks like. Or, or how many saucepans we have. Or how the washing machine works.”

“Fairly well, it’s the dryer that’s temperamental.” 

“Good to know.”

“It can get suddenly very hot, I wouldn’t put anything wool in it.”

“Noted.”

 

* * *

 

“Good morning,” Anna said cheerfully. “Sorry I’m a bit late, busy weekend.” She took off her jacket and hung it on the rack by the door. As she put her hand up Judy gasped, hesitated, then picked up her phone.

“IT. I need IT in graphic design right now. I know, but it’s an emergency.” Pause. “I just noticed your girlfriend is wearing  _ an engagement ring _ , that is the emergency, come here right now. Thank you.” She put the phone down and turned back to Anna, who was blushing bright red. “It’s not an engagement ring,” she said.

“Then why is it on your left ring finger?”

“Because - it’s a wedding ring,” Anna replied, just as Kristoff appeared at the door. He held up his left hand.

“Are you -” Judy started.

“NO,” Anna and Kristoff said together.

  
  



End file.
